Richard Ansell on the playbook for retail operations through COVID

Richard Ansell, Director of Retail at Gordon Brothers, on the tactical playbook for retail operations through COVID-19, the store-closure decisions tenants got right, and the categories that came back faster than anyone expected.

Richard Ansell runs the retail vertical at Gordon Brothers in Australia. The bureau spoke to him in June 2020, when the second wave of store closures was still working its way through the system.

"Retail operators get into trouble three or four months before they realise they are in trouble."

Retail operators get into trouble three or four months before they realise they are in trouble. The cash runs down, the suppliers slow the deliveries, the categories thin out. By the time someone calls us the runway is already short.

The categories that came back fastest in 2020 were not the ones the commentary predicted. Hardware. Pet. Specialty grocery. People stayed home, they fixed things, they fed the dog properly for the first time in years. The trade was real.

Bureau Audio · Richard Ansell · 18 June 2020 · Archived by Bridge Street Bureau